The world has seen horror in every kind and form. When the debate about the most deadly live-threatening events, occurrences, or diseases come to the table, different ideas come to mind.
A school of thought would point at deadly pandemics, like the current COVID-19 that is, from time to time, sweeping across the globe, infecting and claiming many lives.
Others will, yet point at natural disasters, such as tsunami, floods, earthquakes, landslides and wildfires that, at a place or time, are life threatening to humanity.
Others still, would point to the world wars, tribal wars, conflicts, various unrest, terrorism, the holocaust, the crusaders’ war and jihads.
All these, paint the colour of human history with bloodstain of countless men, women, and children.
Still, on this debate, others, on the contrary, see major problems of the world as hunger, poverty, corruption and moral depravity.
While the list is endless, one gets tempted to overlook a giant, yet silent, or seemingly harmless disease of humanity.
It is unpopular like the terrible diseases known in human history, yet has outlived all, with symptoms that appear mild, however, resulting in deadly complications.
It has been a fueling factor for most of the social unrest in history. It is nothing, but the trouble maker; “racism”.
It is a topic well spoken of, yet mostly avoided, for everyone in truth is not so innocent of it.
At any given instance, many people have been victims of racism, at a point, or a perpetrator at another.
Duty, however, now calls, for this threat to human existence to be addressed, for according to Martin Luther King Jr;
“our lives begin to end, the day we become silent about the things that matter”.
Footprint of Racism on the Lane of History
History, has shown countless saddening events.
Some of these are pronounced and others subtle, depending on how we experience them, either as observers, or as victims.
Africa has had its fair share of slavery, colonization and human trafficking, major factors, blamed for the exploitation of the resources of the continent.
This also includes the dehumanisation of its people, with its effects, still well visible, decades and centuries, after the abolishment of slave trade and gaining independence.
Countries in Asia, Europe, America and other parts of the world have had similar experiences of their own.
A look at these occurrences and one sees a common enemy. They all sprang out as actions, or reactions from individuals, or a group of people, who, see themselves, their race, etc., as superior to those of others.
These perpetrators seek any opportunity to harness whatever resources, or powers at their disposal, to intimidate, suppress, oppress, eliminate, or make extinct their supposed inferiors; in simple terms, racism.
Thanks to a few valiant men and women who stood in the gap at these dark times, the truth was able to prevail and a lot of these events and practices, go down in history, condemned and abolished.
Racism has survived over the years, evolving as the world evolves, emerging silently and subtly, through each civilization and raising its ugly head in these modern times.
This is despite the level of education, exposure, technological advancements, socialisation and civility of the present generation.
We usually call the ancient man barbaric, but one can see how despicable the modern man too is behaving, in the name of racism.
More than any pandemic, when we take a headcount of deaths, mishaps, etc., directly, or indirectly linked to racial discriminations.
It is obvious that nations and the world at large, still struggle to deal with the consequences of racial discriminations, hence, we can agree that racism is a bigger horror.
Possible Prescriptions Against Racism, as a Painful Potent Pandemic
Pierre Berton once said, that;
“Racism is a refuge for the ignorant. It seeks to divide and destroy. It is the enemy of freedom, and deserves to be met, head-on and stamped out.”
More than we want a vaccine to stem COVID-19, we urgently need one against racism.
This is because, while COVID-19 is a disease of the body and its spread could easily get controlled.
Racism, is a disease of the mind, spreads faster like wildfire and gets transferred, from generation to generation, wrecking more havoc, than any pandemic, over time.
We cannot possibly ignore the outrageous deaths, like those of George Floyd in the United States and the consequent riots that followed.
This is because, they are just a tip of the iceberg, from the daily casualties, across various cities of the world, resulting from racism.
The fight against racism is a collective one and goes beyond the black versus white contention.
Various forms of discrimination lie within the very races, or colours themselves, as we must, vividly remind ourselves of issues, like xenophobic attacks and other same colour conflicts.
Together, we can put an end to this disease, by doing the following:
Educating and Reorientation of the Younger Generation
Denis Leary puts it this way; “racism isn’t born, folks. It’s taught. I have a 2-year-old son. Know what he hates? Naps. End of list”.
This clearly shows that our kids are not born with a sense of racial discrimination, they are taught.
To tackle racism, therefore, we must input in them, the right values that, there is no black, or white, but just the human race, where none is in any way inferior, or superior to the other.
Removing all Social Divides that tends to Devalue a Race, or Appraise One, as Superior over the Other:
In all countries of the world, special preferences, or abusive tags on races and colours must get discouraged.
It is a known practice that, people are judged by the colour of their skin or the character of fellow countrymen.
This is wrong and should get discouraged. If we long for a better society, then, we must agree with truth in Martin Luther King Jr words;
“I have a dream that, my four little children will one day, live in a nation, where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character”.
Speaking out and Taking Prompt Actions Against Racism and Racists:
We must never spare anyone, be it friend, or foe, if we must root out racism, for in Malcolm X’s words;
“Racism is a human problem and a crime that is, absolutely, so ghastly that, a person who is fighting racism is well within his rights to fight against it, by any means necessary, until it is eliminated”.
We must take legal actions against racist words and actions.
Let us not forget to stay safe and keep our sanity, so that, while we fight COVID-19, in a war against human extinction, we should, also fight racism, to protect the values and essence of humanity.
Featured Image: coe.int
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